Carla Balenda | Born 1925

She was born Sally Bliss in New York. Her father, a science instructor at Carthage High School, had brought the family from Ohio. At 17, she attended a theatrical school in Rhode Island, signed a contract with his studio, and had a couple of encounters with Howard Hughes. She also changed her stage name to Carla Balenda and was credited as such until 1957 when she changed it back to her real name.

Before she was 19, she wed WWII veteran John Martin. They were married for fifteen years and had two sons together before calling it off in 1959. She married William Rutter, a well-known novelist and attorney from California, six years later. He wanted her to stay at home with her kids. That’s why she stopped acting and afterward started volunteering for charities.